


Poison In Orbit

by Bashcat



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-29
Updated: 2016-05-29
Packaged: 2018-07-10 22:24:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7010809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bashcat/pseuds/Bashcat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Separatist factory has been discovered in orbit around the Expansion planet Attahox. The Jedi Council, seeing a potential threat, has dispatched some of its very best on a mission to disable and destroy the facility before it has a chance to produce more toxins for the Separatist forces.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Poison In Orbit

**Author's Note:**

> This served as an experiment to see if I could switch gears and write a believable enough story set in the Star Wars universe. It's not great, quite generic, and I lost patience with it about halfway though, but I'm forcing myself to stop fiddling with it. Enjoy, if you can.

The weather on Coruscant was usually rather mild, carefully controlled as it was, but as Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker soon found out, even the lightest sunshine could grow into something unbearable.

He had been waiting on the landing platform for almost two standard hours now. At first he had paced impatiently, then waited on some boxes, then simply sat down and stared at the distant Coruscanti horizon. Now he was lying sprawled out on his back, smouldering beneath the layers of his Jedi robes, watching the light splattering of thin white clouds and awaiting his slow, inevitable death at the hands of the orbital mirror.

He could go inside, yes, but if he wasn’t there when his ship arrived it could cause unnecessary confusion, and he didn’t want to have to deal with that.

The low rumble of repulsorlifts roused Anakin from his doze. With a grunt he lifted himself up on one elbow and watched the approach of the light-grey-and-red transport. It flew right over him, providing momentary shade and buffeting him with the blessedly cool wind of its passage. With a hiss, its landing gear engaged and it settled down like a great bird-of-prey.

Anakin took a moment to admire the vessel. When the Council said that he and his team would be provided with “suitable transport" he never imagined that he would be graced with something as nice as this. Appearance-wise it looked like a _Nu_ -class transport, but longer and sleeker, with wings that curved backward to terminate abruptly and a front viewport far more rounded than that of a typical vessel. Aside from its paintjob, which identified it as a Republic vessel, it was completely devoid of all markings. Anakin couldn’t wait to dive in and see how it worked - he wouldn’t ‘meddle’ with anything, of course.

Down its now extended boarding ramp walked Obi-Wan Kenobi, his cream-coloured tunics freshly laundered and his sandy hair and beard in only mild disarray. He raised an eyebrow at Anakin, who realised with embarrassment that he was still lying on the floor. Scrambling to his feet, he quickly brushed the grit from his clothes and hurried over to where the Jedi Master was waiting.

“What took you so long?” Anakin demanded. “I almost _died_ out here waiting for you!”

“I hardly think your life was in danger. It’s just a little sun,” Obi-Wan said. There was a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Fine for you to say, you didn’t have to wait in it for _hours_.”

“Neither did you.” Obi-Wan motioned toward where the overhang of the floor above provided shade mere yards from where Anakin had been lying. “Honestly Anakin, you must learn patience.”

“I- hey! I have plenty of patience.”

“If you say so.” Obi-Wan’s smile was warm. “But come, I’m sure we’re all eager to get going.”

“Wait, wait, wait, I gotta take a look at this thing first.”

“Anakin-”

“Just a little look. No modifications, I promise!”

“Anakin we really-”

“I won’t be long!” Anakin gave a little wave as he rushed inside.

While the interior of the vessel was cool and well-conditioned, the engine compartment was a sweltering cave of bare machinery, no doubt cooked from the ride to the Temple. Anakin rubbed his hands together and set about examining the engines. They were cylindrical, was most engines were, and the transport had a total of four of them - another deviation. They were fairly high-class but not the most expensive on the market. He saw several things that could use a tune up, but grit his teeth and pretended not to notice. Most of the other systems were disappointingly standard, though clearly fresh off of the production line.

However, what drew his notice the most was the wide, flat compartment set into the ceiling, near the door. Anakin examined it, and examined it some more. He examined it so hard, in fact, that he was left squinting - because it couldn’t be what he thought it was.

A cloaking device.

Anakin whistled admiringly and carefully left it alone.

He arrived in the cockpit to find Obi-Wan, sitting in the co-pilot’s chair with one hand across his eyes, and Ahsoka, spinning rapidly in one of the auxiliary seats. She stopped abruptly, striped head-tails swaying, and looked at him dizzily.

“Hey Master!” she said with a grin. “The chairs turn _all the way around!_ ”

“Good discovery Snips,” Anakin said, returning her smile. He walked over and settled down in the pilot’s chair, beside Obi-Wan. “So what’s the plan again?”

“I’m surprised you’ve forgotten. It hasn’t been _that_ long since our briefing, and if I recall correctly you were rather excited about this mission,” Obi-Wan said.

“I’ve not forgotten! I know exactly what were’ _supposed_ to do, I’m just asking if we know how we’re going to do it. Or are we going with the usual?”

What they were _supposed_ to do was rather simple. Clone Intelligence had discovered a Separatist production station in orbit around Attahox, in the Hocatar Sector. They had also said that this facility’s specialization was toxins, deadly ones, and so the Council had tasked what Mace Windu had begrudgingly admitted was “their very best” with infiltrating and disabling it in “whatever manner they saw fit.” Anakin helpfully translated that to “blow it up.”

“If by ‘the usual’ you mean rush in sabers swinging, then no, Anakin, we’re not. The Council specifically said that this was to be a stealth mission. We can’t risk any of these new formulas making it out-system,” Obi-Wan said sternly.

“Yeah about that. Did you know that this thing has a cloaking device? A _cloaking device!_ ”

“Yes, in fact, I did. And it will certainly help matters.” Obi-Wan looked around for a moment before asking, “Now, do we have those schematics?”

“Got ‘em right here,” Ahsoka said. Fishing a small holodisk from her pouch, she handed it forward. Obi-Wan inserted it gently into the built-in holoprojector and brought up a flickering blue map of the facility. It had a globular centre, with tapered spires rising high from the top and bottom. The interior view was clearly done in a rush, and the entire bottom spire seemed to be missing entirely.

“Well that’s- that’s not-” Anakin said, cutting himself off at a glare from Obi-Wan.

“Be glad we have even this. From what I was able to gather, they don’t take security lightly,” the Jedi Master said. Reaching forward, he flipped slowly between the individual levels until he found what he was looking for. A level midway up the top spire lit up red. “See here? We can dock here, make our way down to the core here,” another level lit up, “sabotage the stabilisers, and have plenty of time to get out before the station falls from orbit. Hopefully, they will never know we were there.”

“Keyword ‘hopefully.’”

“You don’t think it will work? We’ve done this plenty of times before.”

“Yeah cheer up, Skyguy! They’ll never know what hit ‘em!” Ahsoka pitched in helpfully. Had she been closer she would have given him a friendly bump on the arm.

“I’m not sure. I have a bad feeling about this,” Anakin said.

Obi-Wan shut down the projection and extracted the holodisk. “Bad feeling or not, this still needs to be done.”

Ahsoka laughed. “ _You_ have a bad feeling? I thought that was Master Kenobi’s job.”

“Watch your tongue, young one,” Obi-Wan said, smiling.

Anakin familiarized himself with the controls. They were fairly standard, though the consoles themselves stretched almost entirely around the room, save for the space occupied by the door, and boasted many displays and almost redundant controls. He assumed that’s why the chairs could rotate like they did. Anakin found himself twisting idly back and forth as he memorised all the basics of this particular vessel.

“Co-ordinates set,” Obi-Wan announced.

“Alright team, strap in!” Anakin grasped the yoke and, with the flick of a few switches, the engines rumbled to life. The ship lifted off satisfyingly smoothly, its wings locking into place with a thump, and soon the Jedi Temple was falling away behind them.  The excitement Anakin always felt while flying was sullied somewhat by the crawl of the high-orbit spacelanes, but soon enough they were free. Stars turned to blurs then to lines as they left Coruscant far behind and shot away into hyperspace.

 ----

Anakin was the only one in the cockpit when they arrived at their destination. The vessel re-entered realspace with a shudder, and there, beyond the forward viewport and looming rapidly closer, was the desolate, sorry sight that was Attahox. The planet was, quite literally, a garbage heap - it was no wonder it attracted Separatists, trash as they were. He thought he could see the station already, a tiny round speck silhouetted by its host.

Hit by a sudden realisation, Anakin scrambled to activate the cloaking device, the controls for which he was thankful he remembered to locate beforehand. He held his breath as it activated, but everything seemed to be in working order as far as he could tell.

“Wow that’s… something,” Ahsoka remarked from the doorway. Arms crossed, she examined the view with something amounting to disgust. “I’m glad we don’t actually have to go down there.”

“Same, Snips.”

Ahsoka leaned over the back of the empty co-pilot’s chair to get a better look at the station as it crept ever closer. A few ships idled at various bays, but the one Obi-Wan had indicated remained empty - thank the Force. Anakin got the feeling that Ahsoka, too, was holding her breath as they bypassed the roaming eyes of deep space security scanners and glided in to dock. As soon as their vessel had settled down and was out of sight, he deactivated their cloak; there was no way he could leave it up and still have enough power to lift off again once their business was finished. He just had to hope that he’d tucked it away well enough so that nobody would stumble upon it accidentally. Just in case, however, he wiped the navicomputer’s memory and deleted any important data from everything else he could find.

Obi-Wan was waiting for them by the boarding ramp, the hood of his brown robe raised far enough to cast a deep shadow over his face. He motioned toward the open hatchway courteously. “After you.”

Ahsoka hesitated. “Do we know where we’re going?”

“Down. In any manner possible, but hopefully one that works in reverse.”

The docking bay was wide and high-ceilinged, with one wall dominated by a static field that served to keep out the void of space. It loomed behind them, shimmering and red, casting its subtle glow over them as they scuttled across the open expanse of the bay. Anakin had to prevent himself from thinking about what would happen should it spontaneously fail. They’d be left as dry protein crisps for sure.

“It does not do to dwell on what could be,” Obi-Wan chided quietly.

“Sorry.” Anakin endeavoured to keep his thoughts quieter next time.

The exit to the bay was locked, but that was no problem. Casting his senses out into the corridor beyond, Anakin scanned for danger - and could feel his two companions doing the same. There was no life behind the door, or anywhere in the general vicinity for that matter. He got a vague sense of danger, like a constant background simmer, but he had learned to ignore that - it was usually nothing anyway.

Anakin nodded to Obi-Wan who nodded to Ahsoka who drew and ignited her lightsabers. She made swift work of the door control’s inner workings and their path was cleared with a mere buzz of protest. The corridor was largely unremarkable, a mash of thick grey struts and tiles lit by dull white lights and devoid of furnishings. The floor was worn by the passing of so many feet and the wear and tear suggested that this station had been here far longer than they’d thought.

Obi-Wan brought up a wrist-bound holoprojection. From what they could tell, the map thereon indicated that, from their two options, the left path was the fastest one to take; whether or not it was the easiest remained to be seen.

“Hey y’don’t think there’s a handy turbolift anywhere around here, do you?” Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan motioned for them to follow. “We can only hope.”

Using the half-complete map as guidance, they made their way cautiously onwards, keeping to the shadows whenever possible and dazzling cameras as necessary. They had not needed to resort to the ventilation ducts yet, but that was subject to change at a moment’s notice - especially since the number of droid patrols was bound to increase the further down they went.

Ducking into an alcove, they blurred their collective presence as yet another patrol marched stiffly past. Super battle droids this time, accompanied by an organic garbed in all white. Anakin wasn’t sure why that surprised him so much, there were bound to be scientists galore in a station like this one. Maybe it was the break in monotony, or maybe it was the creeping sense of discomfort he felt thinking about how many lives they were about to wipe out. They were Separatists, he had to remind himself, they deserved it.

“ _Hey, Masters!_ ” Ahsoka’s harsh whisper floated up the corridor from some distance behind. She had stopped by an open doorway. “Come look at this.”

The two of them backtracked to her side. Peering over her shoulder, Anakin whistled. The doorway led onto a series of catwalks overlooking a deep pit. He couldn’t see the bottom of it from the angle he was at, but it was definitely better than their current course. He shouldered past her to get a better look.

“Anakin, wait! There might be more cameras,” Obi-Wan said. Anakin brushed him off.

“Up here? I doubt it.”

“I don’t see any cameras,” Ahsoka said, mere steps behind him as he advanced onto the closest catwalk. Behind them, Obi-Wan gave a quiet sigh.

Their new vantage point offered a clear, unobstructed view of the level below. It was at least three floors deep, a whole three floors that they could bypass, and clustered with tanks and barrels of luminous sludge and infested with load lifters and hovercarts, all ferrying said illicit goods from one end of the room and back again. Anakin could only sense a few living beings, and they were all too focused on their respective tasks to bother looking up. It was a good find, and he said so. Ahsoka accepted the praise humbly.

They waited until they were sure that no one was looking before leaping from the catwalk, trusting the Force to deliver them safely to the ground. They landed lightly behind one of the bigger vats; it was making a curious whirring sound, and the heat radiating from it was palpable from metres away. Anakin wondered what the Separatists were using this stuff for. It must be important for the Council to give it such a high priority.

He felt a tap on his mind, a sense of “ _hey, pay attention,_ ” and turned to see Obi-Wan, already two tanks across and motioning at him impatiently; Ahsoka was already there with him. Anakin gave them both an apologetic smile and hurried to catch up.

Navigating the room was easy enough. There were so few beings that they could slip through the holes easily, and the load lifters were only smart enough to know how to walk and little else. Soon enough they found themselves in a small antechamber with, to their collective relief, a turbolift. Faded letters above the door labelled it as “B-Spire.”

“Well, it seems like hope has paid off,” Obi-Wan said, mildly pleased in the way only he could be.

Anakin let out a whoop and rushed over to the ‘lift. Examining the panel by the door, he said, “What do you think, which floor?”

Ahsoka looked at all 68 buttons with some trepidation. “One, probably,” she said. “It can’t take us down too far, can it? It only goes to the bottom of the spire. Maybe.”

“Sound logic,” Obi-Wan agreed. Reaching between his two companions, he called the turbolift.

And they waited. And waited. And waited some more. Anakin was on the verge of falling asleep when they heard the sound of the carriage approaching - which was bad. Any ‘lift that could be heard coming like this one was in sore need of repair, in Anakin’s opinion. Nevertheless they piled in anyway and set course for level one, wherever it may be.

The ride was even worse than the wait. The turbolift was old and moved with approximately the speed of an elderly bantha. The background rumble was punctuated now and again by Ahsoka’s groans of impatience.

“Jumping down the shaft would be faster,” Anakin complained.

“I’m starting to agree with you,” Obi-Wan said. “Although, there is no guaranteeing what we may find at the bottom.”

What they found, when the ride was finally over and the doors stuttered open, was a whole platoon of battle droids.

“Halt, intruders!” the lead droid said in a tinny squeal. Its declaration was punctuated by the priming of a dozen blasters; in response, out sizzled four lightsabers.

“Whoops,” Anakin had just enough time to say under his breath. Then the battle was on. All three Jedi exploded out from the turbolift carriage, sabers swinging, deflecting blaster bolts and dodging stray ricochets with expert finesse. Droids fell left and right, until only one remained. Its screech of “Jedi!” was cut short as it, too, fell into a heap on the floor.

“Well this is less than preferable,” Obi-Wan said, extinguishing his lightsaber and clipping it to his belt.

“How long do you think we’ve got before the droidekas come piling in?” Ahsoka asked. Anakin couldn’t tell if she was being serious or not.

“Oh, at least a few minutes,” Obi-Wan replied.

“Do we have any idea where we are?” Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan consulted his wrist-bound map. “No idea, I’m afraid.”

“Great.”

“Oh I don’t know, sounds like business as usual,” Ahsoka said.

Obi-Wan grimaced. “Unfortunately. I’d hoped we could deal with this a little smoother than usual, but I suppose it was not to be.” He made a sweeping motion toward the hallway before them. “After you, Padawan Tano.”

In contrast, it sounded pretty good to Anakin. He never liked sneaking around anyway.

And so they set off at a fast run, despite the fact that they had no way to tell where they were or if they were going in the right direction. The scattering of droid patrols they ran into, generic and super, stood no chance, and the alarms that followed only served to speed them along-

-At least until the blast doors began to close, old but durable and directly in their path. Anakin used his momentum to drive the blade of his lightsaber through the thick sheets of metal. They melted at its superheated touch, but it was slow going.

“ _Master!_ ” Ahsoka cried, dropping into a Jar’Kai ready. Half a second later Anakin heard the source of her alarm. With the tell-tale rattle of metal on metal, two droidekas sped around the corner from where they came. Upon spotting their prey, they unfurled and advanced, their dual-shafted blaster cannons plunging the corridor into mayhem; their light blue shields shimmered almost mockingly.

Agonisingly slowly the door gave way. Protected from the bulk of the blaster fire by Ahsoka and Obi-Wan, Anakin completed his circle and Force-shoved the molten obstacle out into the area beyond. “It’s done, come on!” he said, slipping quickly through. His companions relented and ran, following suit.

The area they found themselves in was momentarily stunning. It was huge, open and dome-like, with a shaft to oblivion in the very centre that was easily fifty metres across. Around the rim ran the ledge upon which they now stood; it had no railing, which was worrying. Hot gouges marked the floor where the metal cut-out had struck, but the object itself must have fallen down into the pit for it was nowhere to be seen.

As they ran, following the walkway around the edge, Obi-Wan checked his map. “I know where we are.”

“Oh, good, how about you find us a path with no droidekas?” Anakin said, jabbing a finger at where their two assailants were awkwardly clambering through the ruins of the blast door.

“How about I find us a path to our destination instead. We can’t risk getting lost again.”

“Ok, fine, good.”

Obi-Wan led them halfway around the room. Blaster bolts struck the walls around them; Ahsoka, who still had her lightsabers out, deflected those few lucky shots that would have hit their mark. They skidded to a stop at another blast door, and Obi-Wan got right to work cutting a path through. The two droidekas had stopped shooting, perhaps realising that they were too far away, and were busy rolling rapidly after them.

“Hurry!” Anakin urged.

“Oh yes because I’m clearly slacking off. I can’t _go_ any faster, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said over his shoulder.

The fragment gave way right as the droidekas came into range. They had no time to wait for the freshly-cut edges to cool and leapt through right as the first bolts came flying their way. The hot metal burned Anakin’s organic hand, but it was preferable to the alternative - and then they were running again. The height of the hole Obi-Wan had cut would cause the droids considerable trouble, but it would not hold them back forever.

When they finally skidded to a stop it was to the sight of another turbolift. This one was different, smaller, and was labelled as “Core Hub, restricted.” That seemed like exactly what they wanted, if the layout of this place made any sense. When they went to call it, however, they realised that the panel was dark and unresponsive. Locked down, probably.

“Stang. Now what? Those droidekas will be here any moment!” Anakin said, dismayed.

“Well,” Ahsoka began tentatively, “we could always climb up the shaft.”

“Good idea, young one,” Obi-Wan said. Anakin noted with alarm that he sounded pained, breathless.

“Are you OK, Master?” he asked.

Obi-Wan waved a dismissive hand. “I’m quite alright.” He winced even as he said it.

“Your leg-”

“I said I am _fine_. We must keep moving.” Obi-Wan absently adjusted the singed fabric across his thigh, perhaps in a self-conscious effort to cover the deep burn beneath. It didn’t seem to work very well. Anakin knew that pushing the matter further would get them nowhere, and waste precious time, and so he let it drop with a frown - for now.

Cutting through the turbolift door was significantly easier. The metal was thin and worn, making it the work of seconds, especially with all three of them focused together. Rather than a circle, the hole they cut all but removed the entire door. With a little push, it toppled out and away; they could hear a resounding crash as it hit the bottom. Looking into the shaft itself, Anakin noted the distinct lack of handholds. This would be tricky.

Left with little choice, they carefully climbed out. The only suitable way to ascend would be to leap from ridge to ridge, which they did, always but a finger’s breadth from oblivion and a quick, painful death should one of them slip and fall - if they were lucky. Once or twice Anakin almost missed, but the Force helped him cling to his precarious perches. His companions were several ledges below him, and he prevented himself from thinking about the possibility that one or both of them might fall. He wouldn’t know what he would do if that happened. Jump after them, probably.

At the top of the shaft they found the missing carriage. It was, unfortunately, blocking their path to the door and stubbornly immovable in its current state. Anakin saw two options: option one; he could remove one hand from the ledge and try to cut through, possibly losing his grip in the process, or option two; he could attempt to levitate his lightsaber, which would let him keep both hands firmly where they were but would risk his most valued weapon - and he would never, ever hear the end of that. If they survived, that is. Or, he supposed, they could climb all the way back down and find another path - which would be about on the same level as having tea with General Grievous.

Ahsoka and Obi-Wan caught up to him while he was mulling it over. Anakin relayed his thoughts to them. Ahsoka voted for levitation and assured him, somewhat smugly, that she would be standing by to catch his lightsaber should he drop it. Obi-Wan was uncharacteristically silent, his pain palpable through the Force. He managed a nod.

Anakin took a moment to psyche himself up, then carefully, very carefully, floated his ‘saber from his belt and ignited it. He thought of nothing but his grip on the ledge and the task ahead of him, blocking out his fear and fatigue, shutting out sound and sight. When the panel he had loosed finally came free he had no energy left to catch it, and it plummeted past, nearly hitting Ahsoka. She let out an indignant yelp and shot him a glare.

Once safely inside the carriage, Anakin nearly collapsed on the spot. He resisted the urge, and together he and Ahsoka helped Obi-Wan clamber up. He, in contrast, actually did collapse. His quiet, pained gasp sounding much louder than it was in the confined space. “I’m glad that’s over, I very much did _not_ enjoy it,” he said.

“Your leg, let me see it.” Anakin was surprised by how serious he sounded.

“Really, Anakin-”

“ _Obi-Wan_.”

Obi-Wan huffed irritably, but allowed Anakin to examine the wound. Ahsoka hovered over his right shoulder, brow furrowed. The burn was a few millimetres shy of two centimetres deep, red rimmed and charred black, but thankfully hadn’t hit anything overly major. It looked painful, and clearly it was. Anakin wished that he had a talent for healing; it had never been his field, nor was it Ahsoka’s.

“When did this happen?” Anakin asked.

“It hardly matters now. I have a feeling that we are almost to our destination, and we must make haste.”

Unfortunately, it was the truth; they could do nothing about it now except finish their mission as fast as possible. Anakin helped Obi-Wan to his feet.

Beyond the turbolift door was, as promised, the core hub. It was as one would expect; wide open and dim, with several tiered floors worth of machinery, controls, displays and all manner of switches and terminals, all arrayed around a central core that was separated from the rest by a shaft three metres across and incalculably deep. It was, to Anakin’s relief, protected by a thin barrier.

The room was currently being tended to by several beings, all of whom scattered and fled, screaming, as the three Jedi leapt (or tried to leap) through the freshly-ruined door, lightsabers bared and raised for battle. It was unnecessary, they soon found out, for the room was devoid of battle droids and those beings equipped with blasters had fled without firing a single shot. Anakin was pleased with this turn-out, but wondered why there was so little defence. Perhaps they thought no one would be stupid enough to sabotage the station while still inside - or perhaps the mechanics just didn’t like droids. Anakin returned his ‘saber to his belt and rubbed his hands together.

“Make sure not to disturb the reactor. It would be rather unfortunate if life support failed before we got a chance to evacuate,” Obi-Wan called after him as he strode off.

Anakin waved a hand. “Got it.”

Ahsoka and Obi-Wan took up positions on either side of the room, one for each door out minus the turbolift. They stood guard as Anakin wreaked irreparable havoc upon key systems, so much so that it was unlikely that anyone would be able to fix it before the station crashed to the Attahoxian surface. The stabilisers were his main target, and one he took thorough care of, but he also took out the power couplings that fed the doors and lights. _That should confuse them_ , he thought with no small amount of satisfaction.

The effect was immediate. The lights flickered out with an anguished snap, plunging the room into almost complete darkness, save for the lights on the consoles and displays, and the soft, fiery glow from the molten masses of the ruined consoles. In the distance Anakin could see the yellow-green glow of Ahsoka’s lightsabers waving back and forth as she struggled to work out what had happened. Anakin and Obi-Wan convened at her location at about the same time, their lightsabers serving as oversized glow rods that cast eerie shadows in the darkness.

“Was that entirely necessary?” Obi-Wan asked, exasperated.

“Sure it was. They can’t catch us if they can’t see us. It’s fool proof.”

Ahsoka snorted. “Yeah, except for thermal imaging, enemy lumas and,” she waved her shoto around, “these lightsabers we’re carrying.”

“Quiet, Snips. It’s _good_ plan, alright.”

“If you say so.”

Climbing back down the turbolift shaft was out of the question, especially with Obi-Wan in the state he was, so the three interlopers chose one of the two doors at random and advanced into the corridor. Emergency lights bathed them in a harsh red glow, and somewhere in the distance they could hear panicked shouting and the sound of overtaxed machinery. Obi-Wan’s map led them through a short maze of hallways, darkened and red, until eventually they came across a room not unlike the first they had entered. This one was filled with droids, inactive by the looks of things, and hoverpallets stacked with plain grey crates.

They had no choice but to leap to the factory floor. Obi-Wan landed with a half-suppressed cry of pain, and waved Anakin off before he had a chance to even open his mouth. Anakin huffed anyway, shooting him a look. Through their bond he urged his former Master to take it easy; _don’t I always_ , came the reply. In Anakin’s opinion the answer was a resounding ‘no.’

The ranks of inert battle droids were highly unnerving. It felt like they could snap awake at any moment, a shooting gallery that would spring up to surround them - but surprisingly, none did. They were halfway across the room when the station gave a great, grinding shudder. Droids toppled and pallets smashed into walls or each other, and it was only through the Force that Anakin managed to remain standing.

“That’s not good,” he said to himself, then felt stupid. Of course it wasn’t, that was the whole point. Still, he was beginning to wonder how they could possibly make it back up to their ship in time to take off. They couldn’t use the turbolift courtesy of the lockdown, and he certainly didn’t fancy the idea of climbing all the way up the ‘lift shaft, especially since it was at least three times as long as the previous one.

Obi-Wan was clearly having the same thought. “No, it’s not,” he said. “If the turbolifts are non-operational we have no way of reaching our ship, and if we cannot reach our ship then we will have to abandon it and take another.” He paused, and then added grimly, “that is, if there are any left.”

Anakin winced. Ahsoka winced. The only reason Obi-Wan wasn’t wincing was because he had already done his fair share for the day. Master Windu was not going to like this.

“Perhaps we should have thought about that before we landed,” Ahsoka said, as an afterthought.

“Perhaps, but it’s too late now.” Once again, Obi-Wan called up his map. “One of the main hangars is here,” he indicated a spot on the map, “it’s one of the places where they offload their cargo-”

“How come you know all this?” Anakin interrupted.

“Because I pay attention. Hush. As I was saying, it’s one of the places where they offload their cargo, so we will encounter heavy resistance.  However it’s the only bay that is close enough to offer a quick escape, which we will need if we are to get off this station before it begins its descent.”

As if to underline his point, the station gave another galvanic shudder. Anakin clapped his hands together. “Let’s get going, then.”

“The quickest path is this way,” Obi-Wan said. Dutifully, his map lit up in response, indicating a series of corridors.

Then they were off again, picking their way through the darkness around fallen droids and puddles of powdery substance that had spilled from upturned crates. Obi-Wan’s wound was clearly causing him great pain, and Anakin attempted to surreptitiously slow his pace; it didn’t work, and earned him a mental chide for his efforts. _One day, Obi-Wan_ , he thought to himself.

They were well on their way when, without warning, the lights suddenly flared to life. Momentarily blinded, Anakin stumbled. It seemed that someone was attempting to fix the damage he had wrought. A fool’s errand, surely, but he couldn’t help but feel a spark of misgiving. What if they did, by some miracle, manage to fix the stabilisers? What then? They couldn’t just go all the way back and re-break it, not if they wanted to bring Obi-Wan along.

Anakin pushed that thought from his mind as they resumed their pace. No droidekas or anything equally as awful came to stop them, which was a small mercy. He assumed that, in the confusion, everyone was too busy either evacuating, trying to fix the problem, or panicking to bother hunting them. That, or there were only two droidekas on the entire station, who knew. They only began to encounter real resistance when they came within a floor of their destination.

The super battle droids that were flung their way were no match for all three of them. Blades whirring, a hurricane of destruction, they cut their way ever closer. The panicked flights of those few organic beings they encountered were made even more frantic by the spectacle.

Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan burst into the hangar to a storm of blasterfire, from behind and then from in front as the droids guarding the entrance took notice of their arrival. There were three ships still in the bay; small cargo vessels fit for ferrying small packets of goods and little else. One was already up in the air, soaring for the static field at the far end of the bay, and another was warming its engines in preparation for take-off.

Together they sprinted as fast as they could for the unoccupied vessel. Battle droids were pouring into the bay after them, super and regular alike, blasters at full power; with them rolled two droidekas, Anakin noted with dismay. He was willing to bet that they were the same shielded menaces from before. Evidently, someone had caught onto them.

The next few seconds passed in a blur of confusion. There was a cry of warning, a blinding flash, and then Anakin found himself on his back with no memory of how he got there. His vision blurred and swirled, and there was a persistent ringing in his ears and not much else. Around him he could vaguely see something that looked a lot like… fire? And flashes of green, and a beige blur that may have been Obi-Wan hovering above him; he was saying something, but Anakin couldn’t make out what it was. There was a sense of urgency permeating the Force, and all of a sudden Anakin remembered where he was.

With great effort he forced his vision to settle. Something strong grasped his arm and pulled him to his feet, and there he stood, swaying, still half-deaf and staring around in confusion. Battle droids, yes, and escape. Clearly, there must have been an explosion, but from what? Not the ship, surely, battle droid blasters were not strong enough to penetrate the hull of a starship, although looking around he noticed with horror that the ship had been a casualty. Suffice to say that it would not be ferrying anything anytime soon.

Obi-Wan was shouting something at him. Following his gesticulations Anakin saw that the very last ship, their only chance of escape, was beginning to lift off. His balance was still shot, but he did not have the luxury of recovering. Obi-Wan yelled something to Ahsoka, who was still trying her best to deflect the droids’ onslaught, and gave Anakin a firm shove.

He took it as a cue. Making a break for the ship, Anakin used every last ounce of his remaining power to leap for it. There was a thin ledge beneath one of the external airlocks, and he caught it with both hands. The ship was attempting to make for free space, but was, inexplicably, labouring to do so. Anakin glanced over his shoulder to see Obi-Wan, his arms outstretched, the Force intense around him as he grasped at the ship with phantom hands. It did not stop the vessel’s advance, but it was slowed enough for Anakin to burn a hole though the outer airlock. He opened both once inside, and rushed to peer out. His hearing was returning and with it came a disorienting cacophony of sounds.

Then, Ahsoka terminated her defence entirely. She bolted past Obi-Wan, dodging left and right, and deftly leapt for the airlock; Anakin flattened himself against the wall to allow her passage. Obi-Wan, however, did not stop, nor did he make any move to join them. Anakin wasn’t sure if he could even cross the distance in his current state, overexerted and in pain. Out in the open and defenceless, with blaster bolts whizzing past him far too close for comfort, it was a miracle he hadn’t been hit. Again.

The ship they were in was almost to the static field. Thinking quick, Anakin reached out with his thoughts. He swaddled Obi-Wan with the Force, then, like a primitive fisherman reeling in a catch, yanked him forward with all his strength. With almost comical surprise, Obi-Wan sailed through the air. Anakin and Ahsoka both caught him by the arms and hauled him inside.

Released from its phantom shackles, the ship shot forward. Anakin had only enough time to slam his hand down onto the door control, sealing it a split second before they left the confines of the hangar. Safely away, Anakin slumped down beside Obi-Wan. Ahsoka, though clearly exhausted, did not join them. She stalked away with purpose; a few moments later they heard the distant hum of a lightsaber and a shriek of surprise, and assumed that she had taken care of whoever was piloting the vessel. Not killed them, Anakin hoped. He gave his head a little shake. What a silly idea, murder was not her style.

“A successful endeavour, I’d say,” Obi-Wan croaked.

Anakin had to wet his lips before answering. It felt like his brain was being methodically torn apart by vibrosaws. “The usual,” he said, unsure if his answer made any sense. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. He heard Obi-Wan’s breathy exhalation of a chuckle.

Anakin didn’t care to watch the station fade. He was sure it would be very interesting, but the steady rumble of the engines convinced him to stay right where he was. It was nice, comforting, and rest sounded really, really good right now.

 ----

Anakin wasn’t sure when or how but he must have fallen asleep, for he awoke to find himself no longer aboard the cargo vessel. He surveyed his surroundings with one eye still closed; he was in the Temple’s medical ward, by the looks of things, sprawled out on one of the cots. He was glad to find that his headache had died down significantly, and was now but a dull ache at the back of his skull.

Turning his head, he could see Obi-Wan sitting upright on an adjacent cot. He was garbed in bare tunics, barefoot, and seemed to be arguing with the medical droid. Anakin gave a snort of laughter. Sitting up sent a spike of pain through his head, but it was minimal and he ignored it. His movement caught the attention of both of them, and the droid tottered over, as annoyed as it could get, to inform him that he could expect his concussion to fade within the hour. Anakin wasn’t even aware that he _had_ a concussion. Obi-Wan took the opportunity to slip into his boots and wander over.

“Where’s Ahsoka?” Anakin asked once the medical droid had left.

“Delivering a preliminary report to the Council, as far as I’m aware. Though, I’ve not had a chance to confirm it.”

Anakin groaned. Right, the Council. He was _really_ looking forward to that. Truly. He was sure Master Windu would be ecstatic to hear that their ship had been destroyed.

He swung his legs off his cot and discovered that he, too, had been stripped of his outer tunics. “Do we know when they expect the full report?”

“No clue, I’m afraid.”

“Damn.” Anakin wondered how fast he could sneak out of the Temple.

“In any case I’ve secured our release, so we’re free to leave whenever we please,” Obi-Wan continued. “Though, I would suggest _not_ leaving the Temple.” He gave Anakin a pointed look.

“And you’re alright, are you?” Anakin asked, ignoring that last part.

“I can walk. Really, it’s nothing more than a scratch.”

‘A scratch’ wasn’t how Anakin would put it, but he bit back the comments that came rushing to his mouth. It could have been worse, they could be dead. Honestly, he was surprised they came out of it as well as they did.

 ----

Before he knew it there the three of them were, standing together in the Council chambers. As it turned out their mission was indeed a success. Attahox had gained a new crater, and the remaining Separatists in the Hocatar Sector had been shut down as neatly as possible. Mace took the demise of their ship about as well as they had expected, and expressed (with great exasperation) his gratitude of their “swift resolution to the problem.” Through Ahsoka they found out that the freighter pilot was indeed alive and detained, and the ship itself had been handed over for inspection.

All in all, it was business as usual. Had he not been surrounded by Jedi Masters, Anakin would have laughed.


End file.
